A Landlords Guide to the Tenant Eviction Process in South Africa – How to Evict a Tenant

Importance of Following the Correct Tenant Eviction Process

The correct Tenant eviction process needs to be followed in order for an eviction to be lawful. If the attempted eviction is done incorrectly, as per the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act, then this will at the very least cause costly delays, and at worst the Landlord can be imprisoned.

The Tenant Eviction Process in South Africa:

If no rectification occurs, the Landlord can terminate the lease contract.**

Give notice to the offending Tenant that the Landlord intends to evict the Tenant through the courts.

Apply to court to have a “Tenant eviction order” issued to the Tenant.

The court issues the “Tenant eviction order” 14 days before the court hearing to the Tenant and the municipality that has jurisdiction in the area.

Court hearing occurs where Tenants just need to prove that they have a valid defense.

If there is a valid defense, then a trial date is set otherwise if there is no valid defense, a “warrant of eviction” is issued to the sheriff giving authorisation for the sheriff to remove the Tenant’s possessions off the premises.***

A trial begins or the court sheriff removes the Tenant’s possessions off the premises